David McCullough isn't just a great historian, he is a wise patriot. Two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of 1776 and John Adams, he gave this forum assembly address at BYU on 27 September 2005. You can listen or read the text below.

One of the hardest, and I think the most important, realities of history to convey to students or readers of books or viewers of television documentaries is that nothing ever had to happen the way it happened.

Any great past event could have gone off in any number of different directions for any number of different reasons.

We should understand that history was never on a track. It was never preordained that it would turn out as it did.

Very often we are taught history as if it were predetermined, and if that way of teaching begins early enough and is sustained through our education, we begin to think that it had to have happened as it did. We think that there had to have been a Revolutionary War, that there had to have been a Declaration of Independence, that there had to have been a Constitution, but never was that so. In history, chance plays a part again and again. Character counts over and over. Personality is often the determining factor in why things turn out the way they do.

Furthermore, nobody ever lived in the past. Jefferson, Adams, George Washington—they didn’t walk around saying, “Isn’t this fascinating living in the past? Aren’t we picturesque in our funny clothes?” They were living in the present, just as we do. The great difference is that it was their present, not ours. And just as we don’t know how things are going to turn out, they didn’t either.

We can know about the years that preceded us and about the people who preceded us. And if we love our country—if we love the blessings of a society that welcomes free speech, freedom of religion, and, most important of all, freedom to think for ourselves—then surely we ought to know how it came to be. Who was responsible? What did they do? How much did they contribute? How much did they suffer?

Abigail Adams, writing one of her many letters to her husband, John, who was off in Philadelphia working to put the Declaration of Independence through Congress, wrote, “Posterity who are to reap the blessings, will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors.” Alas, she was right. We do not conceive what they went through.

We tend to see them—Adams, Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Rush, George Washington—as figures in a costume pageant; that is often the way they’re portrayed. And we tend to see them as much older than they were because we’re seeing them in the portraits by Gilbert Stuart and others when they were truly the Founding Fathers—when they were president or chief justice of the Supreme Court and their hair, if it hadn’t turned white, was powdered white. We see the awkward teeth. We see the elder statesmen.

At the time of the Revolution, they were all young. It was a young man’s–young woman’s cause. George Washington took command of the Continental Army in the summer of 1775 at the age of 43. He was the oldest of them. Adams was 40. Jefferson was all of 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Rush—who was the leader of the antislavery movement at the time, who introduced the elective system into higher education in this country, who was the first to urge the humane treatment of patients in mental hospitals—was 30 years old when he signed the Declaration of Independence. Furthermore, none of them had any prior experience in revolutions; they weren’t experienced revolutionaries who’d come in to take part in this biggest of all events. They were winging it. They were improvising.

George Washington had never commanded an army in battle before. He’d served with some distinction in the French and Indian War with the colonial troops who were fighting with the British Army, but he’d never commanded an army in battle before. And he’d never commanded a siege, which is what he took charge of at Boston, where the rebel troops—the “rabble in arms” as the British called them—had the British penned in inside Boston.

Washington wasn’t chosen by his fellow members of the Continental Congress because he was a great military leader. He was chosen because they knew him; they knew the kind of man he was; they knew his character, his integrity.

George Washington is the first of our political generals—a very important point about Washington. And we’ve been very lucky in our political generals. By political generals, I don’t mean to suggest that is a derogatory or dismissive term. They are political in the sense that they understand how the system works, that they, as commander in chief, are not the boss. Washington reported to Congress. And no matter how difficult it was, how frustrating it was, how maddening it could be for Washington to get Congress to do what so obviously needed to be done to sustain his part in the fight, he never lost patience with them. He always played by the rule.

Washington was not, as were Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, and Hamilton, a learned man. He was not an intellectual. Nor was he a powerful speaker like his fellow Virginian Patrick Henry. What Washington was, above all, was a leader. He was a man people would follow. And as events would prove, he was a man whom some—a few—would follow through hell.

Don’t get the idea that all of those who marched off to serve under Washington were heroes. They deserted the army by the hundreds, by the thousands as time went on. When their enlistments came up, they would up and go home just as readily as can be, feeling they had served sufficiently and they needed to be back home to support their families, who in many cases were suffering tremendously for lack of income or even food. But those who stayed with him stayed because they would not abandon this good man, as some of them said.

What Washington had, it seems to me, is phenomenal courage—physical courage and moral courage. He had high intelligence; if he was not an intellectual or an educated man, he was very intelligent. He was a quick learner—and a quick learner from his mistakes. He made dreadful mistakes, particularly in the year 1776. They were almost inexcusable, inexplicable mistakes, but he always learned from them. And he never forgot what the fight was about—“the glorious cause of America,” as they called it. Washington would not give up; he would not quit....

A new, 18-minute mini-documentary follows the journey of Irina, a 23-year-old liberal, Jewish New Yorker who voted for Obama in 2008.

Yet as her connection to Israel has grown, and she has learned more about the President's policies across the Middle East and towards Israel in particular, Irina has come to realize that "when the chips are down," the President may not "have Israel's back" as he says.

The short film features exclusive interviews with leading journalists and politicians in Israel:

If there’s one thing we’ve learned this election season, it’s that a few words from Bill Clinton can do any man a lot of good.

After that introduction, I guess all I have to do is wait a day or two for the bounce.

Since serving as President here in America, President Clinton has devoted himself to lifting the downtrodden around the world. One of the best things that can happen to any cause, to any people, is to have Bill Clinton as its advocate. That is how needy and neglected causes have become global initiatives. It is that work that invites us here today.As I have watched the astounding impact of this Initiative from afar, I have been impressed by the extraordinary power you have derived by harnessing together different people of different backgrounds, and different institutions of different persuasions. You have fashioned partnerships across traditional boundaries — public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, charitable and commercial.On a smaller scale, I have seen partnerships like this work before. In Massachusetts, two social pioneers brought corporations and government and volunteers together to form City Year, the model for Americorps. I sat with then candidate for President Bill Clinton as he investigated the life-changing successes which occurred when young people came together for a year of service, linked in teams with corporate sponsors. Then, as the head of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, I saw again the stunning success than comes when the disparate elements of a community join together in unity, to overcome challenges that had seemed insurmountable before.The Clinton Global Initiative has also demonstrated the effectiveness of entrepreneurship and social enterprise. You endeavor to not only comfort the afflicted, but to also change lives thorough freedom, free enterprise, and the incomparable dignity of work.Free enterprise has done more to bless humanity than any other economic system not only because it is the only system that creates a prosperous middle class, but also because it is the only system where the individual enjoys the freedom to guide and build his or her own life. Free enterprise cannot only make us better off financially, it can make us better people.Ours is a compassionate nation. We look around us and see withering suffering. Our hearts break. While we make up just 4.5 percent of the world’s population, we donate nearly a quarter of all global foreign aid—more than twice as much as any other country. And Americans give more than money. Pastors like Rick Warren lead mission trips that send thousands of Americans around the world, bringing aid and comfort to the poorest places on the planet. American troops are first on the scene of natural disasters. An earthquake strikes Haiti and care packages from America are among the first to arrive – and not far behind are former Presidents Clinton and Bush.But too often our passion for charity is tempered by our sense that our aid is not always effective. We see stories of cases where American aid has been diverted to corrupt governments. We wonder why years of aid and relief seem never to extinguish the hardship, why the suffering persists decade after decade.

"I hope very much that those of you who are studying history... will pursue it avidly, with diligence, with attention.

"I hope you do this not just because it will make you a better citizen, and it will; not just because you will learn a great deal about human nature and about cause and effect in your own lives, as well as the life of the nation, which you will; but as a source of strength, as an example of how to conduct yourself in difficult times—and we live in very difficult times, very uncertain times.

"But I hope you also find history to be a source of pleasure. Read history for pleasure as you would read a great novel or poetry or go to see a great play.

"And I hope when you read about the American Revolution and the reality of those people that you will never think of them again as just figures in a costume pageant or as gods. They were not perfect; they were imperfect—that’s what’s so miraculous.

"They rose to the occasion as very few generations ever have." ~David McCullough

5 Lessons about Studying History

Don't worry about memorizing dates and quotations. What matters is what happens and why.

1) Learn our history that happened before the Declaration of Independence.

2) Don't just learn history through books and teachers. Learn history through music, going to plays, doing drawings, learning about architecture, and so on.

3) Use the lab technique. (One teacher does this by having students study statues.)

Give students a photograph or show them a building, a street corner, or neighborhood. Make a mini-documentary or write a play or paper about it. Let students figure things out.

4) Let students work with original documents or the nearest facsimile possible. Help them realize these were written by real people.

5) Take them to historic sites and places where things happen. They'll never forget it.

Though he was named Jonathan Chapman, our hero of the week has been called Johnny Appleseed for over a century. "Born in Massachusetts on September 26, 1775, Chapman earned his nickname because he planted small orchards and individual apple trees during his travels as he walked across 100,000 square miles of Midwestern wilderness and prairie. He was a genuine and dedicated professional nurseryman. "In 1801, Chapman transported 16 bushels of apple seeds from western Pennsylvania down the Ohio River. He had acquired more than 1,000 acres of farmland on which he developed apple orchards and nurseries. But he didn't just stay there. Chapman's work resembled that of a missionary. Each year, he traveled hundreds of miles on foot wearing a coffee sack with holes cut out for arms and carrying a cooking pot, which he is said to have worn like a cap over his flowing hair. "About 1830, Chapman also acquired land in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There, he planted a nursery that produced thousands of seedling apple trees that he sold, traded, and planted elsewhere. "It's no wonder he became a legendary figure with his cheerful, generous nature, his love of the wilderness, his gentleness with animals, his devotion to the Bible, his knowledge of medicinal herbs, his harmony with the Indians, and above all, his eccentric appearance. "Fort Wayne still celebrates the life of 'Johnny Appleseed' with a festival every September when apples are harvested. Next time you bite into an apple, think of the man who spread wealth through apples, Jonathan Chapman, better known as 'Johnny Appleseed.'"

Frankly, we were completely, totally, absolutely fed up. That’s what we told a reporter from the Milwaukee Sentinel today who asked us why a group of female executives are traveling the country telling women about our former boss Mitt Romney. We were frustrated that so many women were getting a picture of Mitt from the media and negative ads that just doesn't match up with the man we all know and worked with in Salt Lake and Massachusetts.

We’re smart women; we know it’s a big country; and we know we’re only a few voices. But we also know we have insights and stories that women voters want to hear before they make up their minds – so we decided to hit the road and tell as many women as we can what Mitt Romney is really like from the perspective of the women who worked with him every day.Amazingly, most women don’t know that Mitt had women at his side helping him turn around the Olympics in Salt Lake and fix the economy in Massachusetts. It doesn’t surprise me because I know how Mitt puts together his team. He hires the strongest talent he can find, so naturally he ends up with a lot of women. Mitt says he hires people who will “go through walls” to get the job done; the women who have worked with him over the years definitely fit that description. I worked with him for nine years and can tell you that my colleagues in Salt Lake and Massachusetts are as talented and incredible as any group of women in America. Mitt was recognized every year he was Governor for having more women in Cabinet and senior positions than any other Governor in the country. Women made up half Mitt’s cabinet. Women were at the heart of the economic team he put together to create jobs, cut red-tape and streamline regulations and permitting. He personally chose and campaigned for his Lt. Governor – Kerry Healey – a hard-working, gracious, accomplished woman. His Chief of Staff, Beth Myers, was at the table with him giving advice and counsel throughout his administration – and she has continued to do that in the years since, as campaign manager for his 2008 campaign and as senior strategist in the campaign this time. I called a number of my old colleagues from the Olympics and Massachusetts to see if they would be willing to spend the next few weeks on the road, telling the stories of their time working with Mitt. Everyone said yes. No matter what our political affiliation - Republican, Democrat, or Independent – we’ve all seen first-hand how Mitt leads, we've seen how he makes decisions, we've seen how he can fix huge problems, we’ve seen how he treats women with respect and as true equal colleagues in the workplace, and we've seen how he cares.

We've had times when Mitt reached out and helped us through a tough time personally, when he challenged us to grow professionally, when he believed in us and backed us. We've laughed with him - a lot, debated and argued, watched his face light up when Ann Romney walks in a room. He's been there for our weddings and he's been there to comfort us and grieve with us in times of personal loss. We've watched him "go through walls" to do what he's promised. Mitt has to fix anything that's broken, and he just won't stop until the job is done.Read More: What women should know about our old boss, Mitt Romney.

"2016 Obama's America takes audiences on a gripping visual journey into the heart of the world’s most powerful office to reveal the struggle of whether one man's past will redefine America over the next four years. The film examines the question, 'If Obama wins a second term, where will we be in 2016?'"Across the globe and in America, people in 2008 hungered for a leader who would unite and lift us from economic turmoil and war. True to America’s ideals, they invested their hope in a new kind of president, Barack Obama. What they didn't know is that Obama is a man with a past, and in powerful ways that past defines him--who he is, how he thinks, and where he intends to take America and the world."Immersed in exotic locales across four continents, best selling author Dinesh D’Souza races against time to find answers to Obama’s past and reveal where America will be in 2016. During this journey he discovers how Hope and Change became radically misunderstood, and identifies new flashpoints for hot wars in mankind’s greatest struggle. The journey moves quickly over the arc of the old colonial empires, into America’s empire of liberty, and we see the unfolding realignment of nations and the shape of the global future."Emotionally engaging, 2016 Obama’s America will make you confounded and cheer as you discover the mysteries and answers to your greatest aspirations and worst fears."Love him or hate him, you don’t know him."

Note: The film is no longer available online, but it is still available in theaters, and will be available on DVD in October. It is well worth watching!